Another Way To Love (LGBT)

X

Cooper wasn't talking to me. At least, not very much.

I picked him up so we could head to the restaurant together and wait for the girls, and he was pretty much acting like I didn't exist.

He dressed well, though. His trapper hat was gone for once, showing the shaggy, overgrown blonde hair that almost reached his shoulders. He was wearing a button-down white dress shirt, some black dress pants, and some loafers.

All in all, he looked...good. Really good.

I like to think I didn't look half bad either. Since I didn't know how fancy to go, I thought a sweater would be safe. I wore a black sweater along with some brown dress pants and black shoes. I tried to brush my hair back a bit, but I don't know how effective it was.

Cooper was on his phone, his free hand shoved in his pocket. Despite his nice appearance, he had a frown on his face that pretty much destroyed the entire look.

I tried to make small talk, but every time he'd brush me off with one-word answers.

I just don't get what his deal is. He makes me do shit he likes all the time, and getting out of the house would be good for him.

He still hasn't told me what's going on with his dad. I can't bring myself to push the issue, at least not right now. He's already pissed enough since I called him out on being jealous, no reason to rock the boat even further.

Noises from whatever game Cooper's playing filled the space, and I clicked my tongue in aggravation. "Can't you at least put it on mute?"

"I can do a lot of things, Gar. For example," Cooper smiled innocently before turning up the volume on his phone.

It took great restraint on my part not to scream or tackle him in that moment.

But my anger was soon forgotten as I turned my head to see Nina and Eleanor approaching.

And man, they looked incredible.

Nina was wearing a simple red dress that hung off her shoulders, as well as had thin straps going over her shoulders. Red heels with far too many straps complimented the attire, as well as lightly done makeup matching her red theme.

Eleanor was wearing a yellow dress with a black pashmina on top, along with golden makeup and yellow flats. She had dark skin and her hair was up in a nice braided bun. She also had on some gold bracelets that went well with her eyeshadow.

"Gray!" Nina greeted me happily, reaching out and taking my hand like it was natural. Maybe it was for her. It still threw me off a bit.

"Hey." I smiled, hoping my nerves didn't show. "You look amazing." She smiled warmly at me.

"Hi Cooper." Eleanor greeted shyly, fiddling with her hands rather anxiously.

But to my disbelief, Cooper briefly glanced at her before looking back at his phone. "Hey." He said distantly.

I could tell Eleanor was thrown off, but she shook it off and cleared her throat. "Um, should we head in?"

"Yeah, let's go," Nina insisted, heading for the entrance and pulling me along with her.

It took effort to not look back at Cooper. Maybe he was just nervous. Once we were seated and comfortable, maybe things would get better.

It did not get better.

Besides taking a moment to briefly look at the menu, Cooper refused to look away from his phone. Eleanor kept glancing at Nina and me, probably wondering what she should do, if anything.